tomato pizza, a lemony red onion avocado arugula salad + rosé cava slushies
Hi friends, lovers + people probably related to me -
I’m giving this newsletter thing a whirl. It seemed slightly easier to conquer my fear of “PUTTING MY WRITING OUT THERE” than the other new thing I tried this week, which was rollerblading. I impulsively bought rollerblades at a Target in the burbs last weekend. Testing them out was both harder + scarier than I remember - tbd on that until my wrist guards + courage arrive via Amazon.
My newsletter, goes well with, will be in your inbox every Saturday and will contain an eclectic mix(tape). Just kidding my college radio dj dayz are over. But it will have some thoughts + feelings mostly about food + but also about pretty much everything else. It’s concept about pairings, mixing high / low, complimentary + unexpected combinations.
Friday night dinner with a free side of nostalgia
I really think pizza in sense of ordering or making it is something you only do on Fridays, it’s nostalgia inducing. That weekly soda + a family movie night - suddenly I’m 10 again, flushed and starving from two hours of dance class + discovering deep dish pizza for the first time.
When I make pizza at home it’s the kind that can be made in a sheet pan. Some sort of hybrid grandma/sicilian/ detroit style. This tomato pizza is a riff on the tomato pies of my east coast childhood.
Dough wise I’ve recently been using the bon appétit grandma pie dough recipe but I add a couple of tablespoons of my sourdough starter for some extra tang. Any sort of sheet pan dough / focaccia recipe would work well here. So pick one you like or have been meaning to try.
For a jammy tomato topping I grate 4 / 5 cloves of garlic, thinly slice a shallot, add salt + pepper, olive oil, red pepper flakes + dried basil to my dutch oven but any large pot will do. I cook that down then add a whole can of tomato paste, till it turns brick red and you can smell the spices. I add a large can or two of San Marzano tomatoes (depends how saucy you want it) and crush by hand. I turn up the heat till it’s bubbling and then I let it cook for a couple hours on low till it’s thick and almost spreadable. You’ll want to do this the day ahead so the flavors can really concentrate + hangout in the fridge together
When I’m cooking dinner, that’s the time I really want a couple glasses of wine, it’s relaxing + makes me feel sophisticated. For pizza something fizzy is best - like a not too sweet Lambrusco, a rosé, prosecco/ cava/ champagne whatever. Buy some middle shelf fizz, make sure it’s cold + blend with ice cubes till it’s a slushie consistency I did a rosé cava that I only buy for this type of situation. It’s inexpensive + relatively good on its own. This is not a recipe for your funky amazing pet nat or expensive champagne, I do love those but I’m not making slushies with them.
Pour into your favorite glass - I put mine in the the freezer beforehand so they are nice + frosty.
While the dough is still doing it’s doing its second rise + you’re hungry - this is what you do.
Grate some parm + stir together with some whole milk ricotta, salt + pepper then taste it, see how it does with a little spoonful of the jammy tomato sauce.
Pluck some fresh basil leaves from your roommates’ basil plant, since yours died months ago.
Make a quick salad - to eat while you wait for your pizza - you can also save this to go on the side but I’m partial to a salad course
I make some version of this salad dressing couple times a week. It’s olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, juice from half a lemon, a small spoonful of honey, 1 grated garlic clove, salt + pepper and then using a fork I whisk it together.
There’s no measurements just do it to taste - for when I use it on kale I make it thicker + heartier for this dainty wild arugula salad it’s more vinaigrette like.
A little arugula, sliced red onion thinly to slightly thicker mostly because I was crying, 1 small avocado sliced or cubed.
Salt + pepper everything - drizzle all the dressing over, toss, eat out of the mixing bowl. If you’re sharing this salad with someone give them their own mixing bowl because that is really the best way to eat a salad.
Preheat your oven to 500 - open all your windows, doors + turn on the vent, I have a v. sensitive smoke alarm.
Dough is ready! Spread the tomato goodness all over and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes depending how hot your oven is + how crispy you like your crust.
Pull it out - let sit in the pan. Dollop the cold ricotta parmesan mixture, sip your drink, think about what you want to watch for your own movie night, feel indecisive - turn on an episode of Veronica Mars.
Slide the pizza onto a cutting board, let cool a little - text your mom. Sprinkle the fresh basil. Cut a generous square + snap a photo just for yourself. Taste it, decide it goes well with watching Veronica Mars in your pjs, post bike ride + a shower. Save the movie night for another time.
particularly good things i consumed this week
two perfect sweet tart frozen margs, thank you lonesome rose
a weekday breakfast taco - spinach, chopped red onion, bacon, roasted sweet potatoes, eggs scrambled with a lot of sharp cheddar, topped with sour cream, hot salsa verde + cholula
Yes, God, Yes - cringey, funny + pretty fantastic
the podcast The Orange Tree, a case I didn’t know about + some responsibly earnest reporting
a small, chocolate vanilla swirl freeze with oreos + rainbow sprinkles
a homemade life: molly wizenberg - caught my eye at the library recently, it was just as sad + delicious as promised
3/4’s of a watermelon that I sustained a small flesh wound cutting up